Adopted at two days old into a non-Native family, Sunny Red Bear grew up on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota with an incredibly strong desire to know her culture and to seek out her identity. With a bloodline running from Chief Sitting Bull, American Horse and Crazy Horse, much of her identity is deeply rooted in her culture, which she has pursued wholeheartedly since her early twenties. Being a survivor of sexual abuse, she has now become an advocate for Native women. Sharing stories of finding her own identity, her journey of healing, and writing about her abuse has one main goal: to empower women. She has published a number of works, from “Pursuit of Innocence” in Last Real Indians to “The Mother of Racism” in NativeMax Magazine. Sunny now lives in Denver, CO and is beginning her speaking career at colleges, advocacy trainings, “Unity” meetings, and more venues to come. She’s interested in pursuing a degree to work towards policy change for Native women. With the help of her traditions, she has worked through her hardships to create a healthy and functional life for her family, husband Raynor and son Acea. Sunny believes that, “Survivors will continue to heal for the rest of their lives. We can’t wait to help others until we’re ‘completely healed’ because healing is not a destination, it is a life-long process. So I offer my words, my stories and my heart for the people so that my wounds will not be in vain!”